Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ahh, more pumpkin! I can’t get enough. I have to pack it all in before Thanksgiving because after that I’m all-in with Christmas – cookies, candy and homemade gifts. I can’t wait! But for now, a little more pumpkin 🙂 I realized that, surprisingly, I haven’t shared a classic pumpkin bar recipe with you yet. I made pumpkin pie bars last year, but those are more like a brownie/blondie than the traditional pumpkin bars. I still struggle with why this recipe is referred to as a pumpkin bar, when quite clearly this is a traditional one-layer pumpkin cake with a frosting, much like a Texas Sheet Cake or Tres Leches Cake. Semantics aside, these are awesome, awesome, awesome. Moist and fluffy pumpkin cake with a slathering of cream cheese frosting. And it couldn’t be simpler to make.

Fifteen minutes is all you need to get this cake in the oven, and just another five to whip up the frosting. A perfect recipe to keep stashed away for when you find out you’ll be getting last-minute guests during the autumn season. An added bonus is that the whole house will smell fabulous from this baking up in your oven! (There’s definitely a reason why “pumpkin pie spice” is a popular candle scent!)

Directions:

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, oil and eggs until smooth and thoroughly combined. Pour the flour mixture over the pumpkin mixture and whisk or stir gently until incorporated and smooth.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish, smoothing out the top with a spatula.

5. Bake for 30 minutes or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool completely before frosting.

6. To make the frosting, mix together the butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy (you can do this by hand if they are both nice and soft, otherwise use a hand or stand mixer on medium speed). Add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, and mix until completely combined and smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract.

7. Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cake. Cut into squares and serve. Store leftovers covered, at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Pumpkin isn’t eaten much in Australia?? Where you live/ shop may not stock it but I can hand on heart say that it is eaten by most families! Born, bred, married in Melbourne but now living in the UK! It is one thing that I miss the most about Australia being able to get pumpkin all year round and it having the most amazing taste not this butternut squash stuff I can only get here most of the time 🙁

Mmmm I can’t believe it’s one of the only pumpkin recipes you’ve posted! Most bloggers have a different pumpkin recipe up every week lately lol! These look so moist and delicious. I was wondering if you knew how to add photos to the 30days of gratitiude flickr page? I’ve been following along these past few days since you began and blogging about it, but wanted to post them to the group too!

Mmmm looks very moist! Love the cream cheese frosting; then again, cream cheese frosting makes everything taste better, doesn’t it? I made orange cream cheese frosting and zucchini bread but it’s been too cold to eat it and all I crave right now is hot chocolate!

Hi I tried these and they are very good…the only thing is I was expecting a bar not cake! Mine rose higher than the photo and is without a doubt pumpkin cake. I would suggest renaming it because I was looking for a sortof pumpkin brownie type bar. In any event the cake is great! Barbara

Hi Barbara, I’m sorry you got something you weren’t expecting. I did write in the text of the post that this is, indeed, a single-layer pumpkin cake, however, just about all recipes for this type of one-layer pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting refers to them as “pumpkin bars”, which is why I kept the same name, so people familiar with that type of recipe could find what they were looking for. I think the pictures are also pretty indicative of the type of single-layer cake that the recipe results in. However, if you are looking for a pumpkin brownie of sorts, then I would recommend the Pumpkin Pie Bars: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/10/14/pumpkin-pie-bars/. They are exactly what it sounds like you’re looking for.

I just made these and they are DELICIOUSSSSSS – not only does my apartment smell like fall, but the hallway outside does too 🙂 i made a few modifications – instead of just cinnamon, i essentially made my own pumpkin pie spice – 1/2 tsp each of ginger, cloves, and nutmeg and 1 full tsp of cinnamon (just because i’m not a huge cinnamon person) and without allspice because i didnt have it – and it turned out amazingly! i also used the Maple Cream Cheese Frosting from the Pumpkin Whoopie Pie recipe instead.. and let me tell you it is fantastic!!! thanks!!

Yum, yum, yum! Made these but had to substitute, I only had 3 eggs, so I used 1/4 cup of chunky applesauce (had no plain 😉 ) for the 4th egg, and didn’t have any canola oil, so I melted a cup of butter (salted) and it was sooooooooo, SO, fantastic. Not going to change a thing, because it turned out wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe! It was devoured!

At the end of Monday’s work day, we decided to have a potluck on Halloween. With little notice, I panicked and came to your website. Your lemon burst cookies are a crowd favorite at work any time I bring them in, but I wanted to do something new, so I made this cake. It is nerve-racking to bring in something new (especially since I didn’t have time to taste test!), but your recipes never fail me. Everyone loved this cake. Thank you for being so reliable. I have long thought that I couldn’t bake, but maybe it’s not me. Maybe I wasn’t on the right website with the right recipes!

I am so excited to see a post re: cream cheese frosting. Here is my dilemma – I am delivering carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting on Monday, 11/19 that will be eaten on Thursday, 11/22. I know that refrigerating cakes = death; however, I do not want to let the cream cheese go bad by leaving it out so long. The dates are not flexible. Do you have any suggestions?? Thanks in advance!

Hi Victoria, Unfortunately you really only have those two options – refrigerate, or leave them out. I would not leave them out for that long, so you’d need to refrigerate them. Make sure they are in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Hello! I just found your food blog a week ago and already I’m bookmarking all I want to try! i just made these bars last night and actually made two 8×5 pans, one for home and one for work. They came out great! Only problem I had was accidentally dropping a bit of regular sugar into my icing, it made it a bit crunchy but nothing anyone complained about LOL This is a great recipe and will be added to my collection!

Hi there! I am completely new to baking and I decided to give these a try. I found this site after doing a search for “cupcakes”, because I’m tired of store bought stale cupcakes with a list of ingredients a mile long. Your recipe index truly captivated me, and I wondered if it’s too late for a mid 30’s gal like myself to learn how to bake, considering I’ve never baked, not even from a pre-made mix. So I thought I’d try these pumpkin bars, because they look delicious and don’t require baking tools I don’t have. Just a wire whisk, which I found in a drawer. Well, I followed your recipe exactly and they came out just as pictured and tasted absolutely delicious! I had to stop my husband, pumpkin-addict that he is, from gobbling up all the bars. I can’t believe I actually made something so delicious. I have since made the dutch apple pie bars, which came out good too. Tomorrow I am tackling the Guinness Stew recipe with cheddar bay biscuits and hoping I didn’t take on too much. Crazy as this may sound, it makes me feel more connected to my mom and grandma to cook and bake from scratch. They passed away a few years ago. It’s been a tough few years. Learning how to bake something they would have loved really lifted my spirits.

Hi Alisha, Thank you so much for taking the time to drop a note. I’m so glad you enjoyed the pumpkin bars, and yes, anyone can learn to bake! I’m so sorry for your losses, but am happy that spending time in the kitchen can make you feel closer to them.

Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. My grandmother used to make these every year and I loved them! When I got married 20 years ago, we moved several states away and I never got her recipe. She passed away 11 years ago; funny how you long for the strangest things when your loved ones are gone. I’ve been searching for a recipe every fall for several years. I can’t wait to make these! They look exactly like hers! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Michelle, I made this last night and brought it to work. Everyone loved it! It is so fluffy and moist. I put a thin layer of frosting as I know many people don’t like too much on there–becomes sweet. My husband was upset that I was taking it away from him. It is the perfect pumpkin dessert. I also tried the Twix tart a couple of months ago and it was yummy and fun to make! I love the recipes I have tried. I will put this on my blog too! Thanks for the sweet treats 🙂 Best, Marale

Hi Michelle, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for this wonderful recipe! This has been my go-to pumpkin cake recipe for the past 2 years and it never fails me – all my friends and family who have had this cake love it, and I have never had to look for another one. It’s so hard to not eat more than I probably should, haha 😉 thanks again!

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welcome to brown eyed baker!

Hello and welcome to this delicious little corner of the web! Here you'll find approachable recipes for desserts, comfort foods and easy dinners.

I reside in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with my husband, our two sons, and Golden Retriever.